Senator Godswill Akpabio has secured a slim victory in the legal case challenging the outcome of the senatorial election in Akwa Ibom North-West district.
Akpabio was defeated by a former Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, the Peoples Democratic Party’s Chris Ekpenyong, in the February 2019 election with over 38, 000 votes margin.
He had subsequently approached the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Uyo which dismissed his case, leading to an appeal to the Calabar division of the Court of Appeal.
On Saturday, the Appeal Court granted part of his reliefs, nullifying the election in one out of the 10 local government areas of the senatorial district.
The local government, which happens to be Akpabio’s hometown – Essien Udim – is where results were said to be inflated far above the total number of registered voters, leading to a cancellation of the votes.
During the trial, the Returning Officer for the local government, William Olosunde, had testified that accredited voters for the local government was 19, 455, less than the 61, 329 votes claimed by the petitioner.
He told the Tribunal that the results claimed were not a product of the election the Independent National Electoral Commission conducted, consequently leading to a decision to cancel the election in seven out of the 11 wards of the local government area due to thuggery and intimidation.
The Court of Appeal has therefore ordered that fresh elections be conducted in the contentious local government within 90 days.
